Google your wholesale supplier….or Else!

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (No Ratings Yet)
Loading ... Loading ...
June 1, 2008 · Posted in Wholesalers, Work from home: Dropshipping on the web 
by Robert Cyr




Have you, or a loved one, experienced a wholesale or liquidation merchandise purchase that went terribly wrong?

Authors Note: Sorry..I could not resist adding “or a loved one” line in that sentence, it reminded me of the motorcycle accident commercials that are run continuously on daytime TV

Back to business, this is a serious topic…

Your Internet browser is an incredible tool which allows you to instantly search for wholesale and liquidation merchandise by simply typing a few key words. Once you hit the “enter” button after a search query you will notice page after page of companies advertising wholesale merchandise. Sitting in your living room or from your office how do you know which company to buy from?

Anyone with a few hundred dollars can produce a website and start offering wholesale or liquidation merchandise for sale…Do not trust “Just Anyone” with your hard-earned money.

If you have spent time researching a specific category of wholesale suppliers you have probably come across industry forums like WholesaleU. The forum provides a way for individuals to network with others who are connected to the wholesale Industry. If you are not networking with other wholesale buyers I suggest you sign up for a free forum membership at WholesaleU and start benefiting from tons of industry information.

The forum offers several different topical categories, however I want to bring to your attention one titled, The Good, The Bad & The Ugly . This topic has over 360 posts either asking about the validity of a wholesale supplier or revealing individual purchases that went wrong. This is a great resource for you in the pursuit of finding trustworthy, legitimate wholesale suppliers. I cannot tell you how many people I have spoken with over the last 5 years who have lost thousands of dollars attempting to purchase wholesale and/or liquidation merchandise from fraudulent companies.

In addition to researching through industry forums there are other websites which will allow you to further investigate the validity of wholesale suppliers you are thinking of buying from:

The Better Business Bureau You can search the online records of the BBB looking for consumer complaints associated with a particular business or website.

RippoffReport.com – This website allows disgruntled consumers the opportunity to publicly “voice” details of a purchase that they were unhappy with for various reasons. Ripoffreport also allows rebuttals from the company of which the complaint is directed to.

Network Solutions – You can enter a domain address in the “Whois” search to find out when the domain was registered, administrative contact information and often a phone number for the domain owner. This can be a great tool when researching a company. Some domains are registered as “Private” and all contact information is not available. This is a great tool to use when a website does not list a physical address!

Google Maps – If you cannot travel to a wholesale or liquidation companies’ warehouse you can map the location. Often you can zoom in through Google’s satellite feature to see specific location details. Why would this be beneficial? Well, if you are told an address is a warehouse, but you map it out to be a residential home you probably should find another company to buy from.

When I am buying wholesale or liquidation inventory from a new company I follow a six step procedure:

  • I carefully read through the entire website in question reviewing payments accepted (checks, credit cards etc), merchandise returns and shipping information. I ask for clarification if needed.
  • I contact the company by email and phone asking specific questions about the company’s history and detailed information about the merchandise I am interested in purchasing.
  • Ask for customer referrals. Be specific in requesting names and phone numbers of individuals who have purchased similar merchandise in the past. Understand that some companies have strict privacy policies in place which do not allow for disclosure of customer information.
  • I like to “Google” the company in question, you will be surprised at information (both adverse and positive) which can often be found on the Internet.
  • I visit industry forums like WholesaleU, Surplus.cc to actively look for company information.
  • And lastly, I visit The Better Business Bureau, Ripoffreport, Google Maps and Network Solutions to further complete my research


Following the suggestions above will assist you in making “better informed” decisions. Please understand that not all companies have an internet presence or can be readily found (adverse information) by searching the Internet. I am a huge advocate for the old saying, “Fly and Buy”. The phrase basically means visit the company you are about to send or wire thousands of dollar to. A $500 plane ticket just might turn out to be the best investment you will ever make…..

Share:
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • TwitThis

Tags: no tags   |   Categories: Wholesalers, Work from home: Dropshipping on the web

Comments

Leave a Reply




Anti-Spam Protection by WP-SpamFree